Have you ever seen a mouse sleeping curled in a cup?Have you ever seen a magpie on the phone?Does the rabbit have bad habits?Does the hedgehog dine alone?

So asks Mockus Q. Birdius in her debut collection of poetry for children, delightfully illustrated by Will Pupa. Join Patty-catty Pantaloons and Alphonse Raccoon for higgledy-piggledy poems and silly stories in which you'll find the most wondering creatures and new friends. Read and rhyme with penguins and elephants, giant teeth, jellyfish and mermaid tails, alphabet fun and a giant invisible otter! Only in the world of Mockus Q. Birdus will you meet rats who write books and cats dressed like fairies. If you'd like to play tunes on a big red kazoo in a field full of cows, this book is for you!

Mockus Q. Birdius, a.k.a. Gail Wronsky, is the author, coauthor, or translator of twelve books of poetry and prose, among them Dying for Beauty (Copper Canyon Press), and Imperfect Pastorals (What Books Press). Her translation of Alicia Partnoy's book Fuegos Florales (Flowering Fires) recently won the American Book Prize. She teaches creative writing and women's literature at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Will Pupa was born and raised in Hawthorne, CA. Growing up, he spent many summers on his maternal grandmother's farm near Naples, Italy. He is Artist in Residence in the Marymount Institute and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Loyola Marymount University. He has many sculptures on public display or in private collections in Europe and the U.S.